Colbert: Mideast Goes ?Democrazy?

Posted on Jul 27, 2006

Linguists beware; Stephen Colbert has invented a new word: “democrazy.” As the host explains, ?there was a time when I thought the key to Middle East peace was representative government, but then democracy gives us a prime minister who sides with Hezbollah, an Iranian president who wants to go nuclear, and a Palestinian government controlled by Hamas. So, now, I?m thinking maybe we did the wrong thing.?

Only time will tell if “democrazy” finds the same zeitgeist appeal as Colbert?s “truthiness.” The word certainly has a similar utility in making sense of the Bush-era world, where democracy is meant to deliver peace, yet so often backfires. What is one to do when free elections produce explosions? Colbert looks to the White House for guidance:

?President Bush has made it clear that the best way out of a crisis is strong unquestioned leadership,? he says, as the text onscreen reads, ?also, best way ?into? a crisis.?